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Topic: Cloudy Short Films (Read 9276 times)

got a 'final cut' to share...! you guys were so helpful and supportive, and I just want you to see it now.

a trade: send me a pm , and i'll send over the link and the password. I'm sharing it here so soon because I'm gonna be sending it off to random, disconnected taste-buds in the near future, and I'd feel better knowing xax friends saw Wiglum first.

We just finished, and we're going to Cannes for the Short Film Corner with it. Unsure what kind of sandy movie-haven networking horror-show we're about to get into...

It was impressive technically and full of ideas. I loved the mood of the short, it has a unique and strange voice. And the main actor is absolutely great. He's fantastic. I'm not sure why he wants to kill myself, I'm not sure what happens in the store. But it looks and feel earned because of the camerawork and the actor. The music and all the work with the sounds are very important, too, to create the mood I'm talking about. The store is filmed like some sort of limbo, it's really good, with all the reflections and the fact that a store is a strange place anyway...

It'd be better if we had a better idea of who the character is, I think!

right from the start, opening shot and credits, there’s lyricism to the nature of the camera and script and music. the actors perform with well-placed understanding aka the actors provide empathy moments. i like the co-star’s grey streak in his hair. this movie has features of realistic. for example, it portrrays a person in a very specific mood, which i appreciate. i “took note” in particular beginning at 4:55, on a repeat of a previous similar shot there’s a shot that’s what i’d call a long sentence, that goes until 5:42 and i love it. i get you sweet thing. it's a short that exhibits a capacity for understanding both cinema and people, and that’s what we need, deserves a career, and i hope you shred the fests, proud of you for slam-dunking your kickstarter xx

its tough, like i think pta said once that short films are an impossible format and theres a lot of things I love about the short, the whole “sentence” thing jenkins was talking about and the supermarket stuff and your main character. i think whats important is you got the rhythm down, like others said the whole thing was giving me p-dl vibes in the way i think that movie creates a sort of tense, musical vibe in its use of sound and image that i feel like most films don’t capitalize on. that you captured.

like drenk said I feel like i wanted to know more about these characters, which is just naturally a problem with the format itself, because of its snapshot nature I’m only getting a good slice but naturally i want the whole cake. Honestly thats a good thing, because if I didn’t want to think about your character for more than 15 minutes then it means that you probably failed.

I’m def looking forward to whats next and because you got something and I’m excited too see what you can do with a longer thing

I watched this a couple days ago, and I'm still letting it sink in. You definitely have something compelling here. The production value exceeded my very high expectations (based on the trailer); I was especially impressed with the sound design. It's remarkable how quickly great sound can infuse something with quality. There's something about aural immersion that really hooks you. (Conversely, it's also remarkable how quickly bad sound can cause you to lose confidence in what you're watching.)

Wiglum's house reminded me of Adam Kesher's house in Mulholland Drive. It's this upscale LA home that's very new and clean but contains a darkness or chaos that's in dramatic opposition to the surroundings. The things that happen in and around Wiglum's house felt very Mulholland Drive to me as well, and reminiscent of Inherent Vice and Punch-Drunk Love in the way that troubling things happen in this goofy way (carrying Wiglum and buckling his seat belt for example).

The assistant is an intriguing character. I'm not sure how self-aware the film is about him. Are we supposed to think he's deep, or are his affectations (especially the funeral thing) supposed to be part of his flaws? Either way, I'm almost more curious about him than I am about Wiglum. Also it feels like there's a time jump after the interview, and when he carries Wiglum out he's done this before and always needs to get high before doing it (there was special emphasis on that). I think I'm more interested in their relationship than I am about either of the characters individually. I'm hooked.

Wiglum's house reminded me of Adam Kesher's house in Mulholland Drive. It's this upscale LA home that's very new and clean but contains a darkness or chaos that's in dramatic opposition to the surroundings. The things that happen in and around Wiglum's house felt very Mulholland Drive to me as well, and reminiscent of Inherent Vice and Punch-Drunk Love in the way that troubling things happen in this goofy way (carrying Wiglum and buckling his seat belt for example).

it's a joy hearing those 3 movies in one sentence in reference to that one scene-- but more importantly, I love the way you describe the troubled goofiness in the giving and taking of love within that one seat-belt buckle. And, I think you're tapping into something true when you relate a moment like that to those movies, because that moment was a beat we came up with on set. Along with the second salad bar scene, I asked Barry what he wanted to do and he said he wanted to watch her make a salad....it's things like that, it's all a testament to something but I don't know what...

The assistant is an intriguing character. I'm not sure how self-aware the film is about him. Are we supposed to think he's deep, or are his affectations (especially the funeral thing) supposed to be part of his flaws? Either way, I'm almost more curious about him than I am about Wiglum. Also it feels like there's a time jump after the interview, and when he carries Wiglum out he's done this before and always needs to get high before doing it (there was special emphasis on that). I think I'm more interested in their relationship than I am about either of the characters individually. I'm hooked.

You clearly got the movie, whatever that means. You're more interested in their relationship? And you're more curious about Doug? I think you're telepathic because the feature WIGLUM functions as a grounded ghost story where Doug Nichol, or the ever-changing thought of him, is our ghost. We will only see Doug in the first 15 minutes of the film, and maybe never see him again while Wiglum is entangled in a business world of Kafka distractions that veer him off the path to Doug, causing him to forget what he was looking for in the first place. You really got me excited JB, I gotta say.

To a certain extent I can understand the wish for more biographical details of Wiglum, but when the form (in this case, very much the externalisation of his emotional state) is like it is here, I miss nothing. It does what shorts can do so well – show a little snippet of time and emotion. The chaos of being Wiglum, for 15 minutes.

And like jenks says, there's truth in the actors. The wonderfully surprising reactions, like the little strange construction of a smile happening on Doug's face, then “Fair enough,” and then this little strange tick he does.

“I had a cat once.” “Family.” Hah! Also the little moment when Dough smells Wiglum as they walk is very very funny.

You trust the image, and you let them rest, let us take them in. The supermarket is shown to us very economically, but each image is designed to emphasize the surreal qualities. The shot through the salad bar, with all it's upside-down reflections, is excellent.

You know that the relatively fast pace and intense tone of the beginning, that throws us headlong into this headspace, doesn't need to be there all the time, and after that first part climaxes with the car driving and the kind-of-suicide-attempt in the garage, you shift the tone, and we enter a calmer state of Wiglum’s mind. And in this calmness he actually does try to kill himself. I love tonally versatile directors who get at their characters insides from different angles.

The set-design is all sorts of wonderful, with the weird images on the wall in his office and the TV outside. You're not afraid to push the details in a slightly surreal direction.

And it's incredibly exciting to hear how you describe the feature! You talk like you walk – the mood of that description in this short already, and I can't wait to see what you do with a bigger canvas.

And like jenks says, there's truth in the actors. The wonderfully surprising reactions, like the little strange construction of a smile happening on Doug's face, then “Fair enough,” and then this little strange tick he does. “I had a cat once.” “Family.” Hah! Also the little moment when Dough smells Wiglum as they walk is very very funny.

It's really great that you're digging on Doug, he's a fresh actor compared to Barry. Neither of the two had known, seen, or spoken a word to each other until shooting our first scene -- which happened to be the interview. He came on set that morning showing me a pretty bad eye-sore from the stress since he hadn't slept the night before. Asking me (again) if I could tell him what the movie was about in three words!

You know that the relatively fast pace and intense tone of the beginning, that throws us headlong into this headspace, doesn't need to be there all the time, and after that first part climaxes with the car driving and the kind-of-suicide-attempt in the garage, you shift the tone, and we enter a calmer state of Wiglum’s mind. And in this calmness he actually does try to kill himself. I love tonally versatile directors who get at their characters insides from different angles.

Love how you describe this. The difficulty in this was how to crack Wiglum from these different frequencies but also have the movie feel like one movie. . . it's all about the music, I think.

The set-design is all sorts of wonderful, with the weird images on the wall in his office and the TV outside. You're not afraid to push the details in a slightly surreal direction.

The most set-design we did was in the interview room - a building built in the 1920's at UC Berkeley. We had a really really great time dressing that room up. But for the rest, it was all about only showing the essentials in the locations we found. For a film like this one, if you looked one way or another in most of these spaces you'd break the spell completely.

And it's incredibly exciting to hear how you describe the feature! You talk like you walk – the mood of that description in this short already, and I can't wait to see what you do with a bigger canvas.

I really hope so....!!!!! It's maddening writing something around Wiglum. Fucking maddening. He doesn't want to leave the house. But... there's no better feeling than when he opens up.

well you know, that’s a great opening there, showcasing the feeling of creation and discovery.

what you allow for me is an emotional entry into your narrative perspective. before you go scuba diving you put on a scuba tank, and i appreciate how you do this for me. i believe the progression is logical for the design of an emotional structure which exists within cinematic character expulsion.

a dividing conceptualization exists between words and cinema as form. this is for the screen. you could write the scene, Kafka did, but your materials compose their own variables. then in the next scene, music overlays floating variables. this, by the way, is what i think you must do, because you cannot be like Kafka by trying to be Kafka, since a point of Kafka and all my favorite artists is that you must be yourself. so i’m glad you bring yourself in as a moviemaker.

to sound cinephilic, i’ll say the superimposition overlay is pure 1928. and i fucking love it. a resurgence in appreciation for ’27-’32 cinematic culture i support so much it makes me fall over. i’m not like “oh what’s happening here?” i choose being delighted over confused every time i can, and i know what’s happening is a cinematic parallel. you’re right next to your character, there’s where you are, that’s where the camera is, getting closer then further then closer.

i’m not a mega supporter of farts, but yeah i get convinced sometimes through repetition, and i’m pro-animals, so by the fourth fart it’s only practical i laugh. i think you’re playing every key on the piano, and you know you’re playing a song, because then comes the title card.

then childhood, like that. effortlessly. then a temporal and thematic match cut. the cinematic textures feel time appropriate for a Kafka adaptation. the railcar, with music, effortlessly. one of the dividing factors in cinematic perspective, which to me is a bummer, is that “art” cinema moments can be called "dead" or something like that. while i think "dead" cinema can burst with human emotion. in lamestream cinema it’s that you move the audience along because they're but sheep.

you ask me, the dialogue sounds appropriate for a Kafka adaptation as well. it feels not to come from humans but sounds and moves in human form. maintaining the distance between reality and fantasy is a technique i appreciate from a fundamental perspective.

nervous eye shifts as a photographic technique! you could get a humanitarian award. he says he doesn’t know if he’s going in this tram. again, the mystery here. then you’ve really worked this fucking shot, since 5:44, you could almost tap dance here, but what happens is an interlude, a portal into the next narrative segment.

“anyway” is how you switch tracks. totally agree. i’m involved with the emotions and what i hear about is pancakes. that’s how you do it. “it’s not raining, forgot to tell you.” that’s when a joke flies out of the park and the audience raises their hands for joy. science.

how could he not begin talking about his worries!?! how could i say you haven’t set me up, gotten me ready for this... and he has people troubles. bless. i got those too. he’s worried ‘cause he don’t feel like nobody else, and he worries people will notice this, put him down for this. he says he hates their things! how can union be possible here? i know this problem and am personally seeking unions, but i do like hearing about this problem.

yelling happens. you crack me up. the song conversation i believe fits nicely into a central idea of this short. while it’s happening he’s worried he might forget it, which blocks his appreciation for the moment, confuses him about lasting meaning.

things are getting cold indeed. he looks so funny on the train. i wish that was on a stamp. jealous about the shot of the small candle warming his feet. the next sequence could be a ride in an amusement park. oh, i’d be scared to go to it! then that's how this ends. and i believe this is a memorable ending which fully encases this short as memorable.

what can i fucking say. you make me happy. and you make making movies a joyous thing. i'd love to just record you reciting this commentary track over the movie. maybe there's trouble with union in Kafka's world, but between you and I.... <3

There's not a lot i can say cause jenkins just about covered it. What did stick with me though, is the sense of panic you feel in north Europe in late Autumn when you live without decent winter clothing and insulation/central heating. That grim trepidation of 'how the fuck am I going to make it through another one of these?'. Any time I read Kafka, i feel like i doubt he wrote any of it in the summer months. You captured that fear well.

Also I feel like eastern Europe is one of the most cinematic areas on Earth. It still has such a foreboding atmosphere that hangs in the air, you can feel a palpable sense of tragedy that still hasn't fully settled. Where was this filmed? Czechia? (I know Czechia's technically central Europe but whatever)

The main actor has a good face. Almost all Hollywood actors have deeply boring faces. I feel like i'm flicking through a GQ magazine in a dentist's waiting room when I watch those.

That grim trepidation of 'how the fuck am I going to make it through another one of these?'. Any time I read Kafka, i feel like i doubt he wrote any of it in the summer months.

this is one of the feelings from the story I got, and he really doesn't make it, Kafka never finished the story. . . . and you've gotta be right about his writing seasons-- it would be great if they compiled the stories from Kafka that were only written during the summer, but maybe he was writing all those love letters around then...!!

it's a special place: we shot in Sarajevo, Bosnia. There are pockets of Austro-Hungarian architecture left over from a century ago that you're talking about where we shot, scattered with bullet-holes from the war in the 90's. It's a majority muslim country and it's a small city with a long history of east/west cultures colliding and melting together, wedged between mountains, where the fog and smog can't escape during winter. that atmosphere you said that hangs in the air. . . that's it, and thank god there's no way of avoiding it.